Grade I winner Outwork, seen here training at Churchill Downs this past May in advance of the Kentucky Derby, has been retired and will enter stud at WinStar Farm for 2017. Jonathan PalmerHerald-Leader

Grade I winner Outwork, seen here training at Churchill Downs this past May in advance of the Kentucky Derby, has been retired and will enter stud at WinStar Farm for 2017. Jonathan PalmerHerald-Leader

Grade I winner Outwork retired to WinStar Farm

Outwork, winner of this year’s Grade I Wood Memorial, has been retired and will enter stud at WinStar Farm for 2017, the operation announced Thursday.

Joining Outwork as a new WinStar stallion for next year is graded stakes winner Speightster, who has also been retired.

Trained by Todd Pletcher for owner/breeder Mike Repole, Outwork becomes the first Grade I winner by sire sensation Uncle Mo to retire to stud. The bay colt captured the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct this past April in just his fourth career start before finishing 14th in the Kentucky Derby.

That outing on the first Saturday in May would prove to be Outwork’s final career race. He retires with three wins from five starts and $701,800 in earnings.

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“Outwork has always reminded me so much of Uncle Mo,” said Pletcher, who also trained Uncle Mo. “Both are big colts with similar qualities, including their uncanny speed and precociousness for their size. Both were always very forward in the mornings and among the best work horses in the barn, and obviously they both went on to do great things stretching out their speed to win major Grade I races.”

Speightster retires to WinStar as one of the fastest sons of his sire, Speightstown. In just his third start, Speightster remained undefeated when he captured the 2015 Grade III, $500,000 Dwyer Stakes by 2½ lengths over Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red last July. In his only start this year, the chestnut colt finished eighth in the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes on May 7.

A WinStar homebred, Speightster hails from the Danzig mare Dance Swiftly, a full sister to champion Dance Smartly and half-sister to champion sire Smart Strike. He retires with three wins from four starts and $368,800.

“Outwork and Speightster are as close to Uncle Mo and Speightstown as you will find when you look at the combination of their overall quality, physical traits, and racing traits in relation to their sires,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar President & CEO. “Speightstown is emerging as a sire of sires, and Speightster is closely related to Smart Strike and bred just like him. Most would expect Uncle Mo to have successful sons at stud, and Outwork looks like a carbon copy. So these are two very exciting new stallion prospects that will have the full support of some of the top breeders in the world.”

Stud fees for Outwork and Speightster will be announced at a later date.

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